Everybody Started From The Bottom, Even The Biggest Clothing Brands Out There: Clothing Brand Story of Rimfrost Clothing Co.

Looking to start your own clothing brand or an apparel company? You’ve come to the right place!

“The people who have made a brand great did not start out at the top.”

You just have to know that no one started right at the top of the mountain. The biggest brands now came from the ground up, and worked for years and years to get to their current level of success. Read more below to find out about Morgan’s journey to make Rimfrost Clothing Co. one of the biggest brands from Norway!

Photo by: Fabian Framdal Fjeldvik

How or what should we call you (the founder’s name), and what is the name of your brand? What is the meaning behind the name of the brand? And how did you know that you were sure about the name?

Name’s Morgan Staangstad, founder of Rimfrost Clothing Co. The meaning behind the brand name was to find something totally Norwegian, and that sums up something all Norwegians knows.

How can you ever be sure about a name? I think this is just like when you get a kid, you’re never totally sure, but you know you like it, and you stick with it. Hopefully, people like it as well!

When did you launch? When was the moment that you knew that you’re going to start your own brand? What was that “thing” that triggered you to start it? Did you see something online or did you see a gap in the market and thought to yourself that you are the one to fill that gap?

We started out online on the 1st of April in 2012. What a great day to start a brand, when no one thinks that you ever would.

I knew the moment my friend sent me the first picture of a printed t-shirt with our logo that we use until now. This is the same thing that triggered me to give it a go as well. We were going to make a brand that sums up black metal, skateboard, hip-hop and street culture from Norway. We did not find any other brand that fits this, and, hopefully, we have made a start to fill this gap.

How would you describe your brand? What category would it be in?

We are a handmade brand with the slogan “Handprinted Streetwear”, and no fancy-pants high-fashion stamps or anything like that.

Photo by: Fabian Framdal Fjeldvik

What was your very first design? What was the inspiration behind it? In fact, what is your inspiration for the whole brand?

Our first ever design was our logo: a triangle with an up-side-down cross in it.

As we were going to combine so much cultures in one, we had to go for something dark and simple. The inspiration for our whole brand is to make simple, clean and exceptional designs that we would love to were ourselves.

Do you remember your first sale? When was the first time that you sold one of your products? Was it your very first design? How many days, weeks or months after officially opening your online store to the public? Was it sold to a friend or a person you didn’t know? How did you feel about this first sale?

I still remember our first ever sale, it was to the brother of my old friend.

We launched our store on April 1st, and on the first day, we had over 10 sales. It felt extremely satisfying to see orders go out the door, and that feeling has not changed since day one. I still smile every time I see a new order in our online store. Seeing someone use their hard earned money to buy our products show that they trust us, and that feels great!

Was there a collection or design that you didn’t think would pop as much as it did? Why did you think that it wouldn’t create that much impact? And after the response from your customers, did you get to a conclusion as to why it did sell more than what you thought?

When we started out, we were still working on our logo. We didn’t think our “triangle” was going to be as good as it did, but people responded to it so well, and it made such an impact that we decided to use it as our logo. I think the simplicity in the design made it a top seller, and, surely, even for the years to come.

How did you get the brand out there? There are a lot of brands that come out almost every single day. What did you do to get recognized and show that your brand is different? Did you use social medias to get in touch with your customers? Was there a specific medium (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.) that you believe that got you to connect with them more? And, why is that?

In the beginning, Instagram was still a baby in Norway, but we started out using it as a base for our customers. This is still to this day our most used medium online.

We also love guerrilla marketing, with the use of stickers/posters/giveaways. What works best.. I really don’t know. We do have a great base of customers and followers that follow our steps along the way, and we are grateful for every single one!

Photo by: Fabian Framdal Fjeldvik

Photo by: Fabian Framdal Fjeldvik

Are you full-time on your brand? When did you know that you got something going on? What I mean is that from that point on, you’re going to start focusing more of your time to the brand? Or was it right from the very beginning?

I still have a 100% job on the side. We started out with a small budget, and we know that we have to work for a lot of years to be completely full-time on the brand. I hope that one day, I will be able to walk into my own shop knowing that it’s built from the ground up, and not just from a bunch of money.

Before releasing your very first collection or design, or before launching your brand, what were you doing? What was your occupation? Were you in a similar industry?

I have never worked with clothes before we started. I joined a street team for a brand a few years ago, and at a hardware store that I used to work at had some clothing items. But after finishing school, I started working full-time for an IT firm, which is still my current job.

For any business, they say that the first year is the hardest. Did you go through anything that got you demotivated? Was there ever a time that you thought that it wouldn’t work? Did anything happen that got you to this state? Then, how did you overcome this?

I have never had a setback like this. This is because we have the best and the most loyal customers you could ever imagine. There may have been times that I think to myself: “Why am I doing this? I use so much time on this. Is it worth it?”, and the answer to this every time is.. because I LOVE IT! I can’t see my self without the brand.

What is the biggest achievement that you or the brand had so far? Was there a specific event that was so significant that it felt very fulfilling for you and the brand?

Our biggest achievement must have been the time that the Norwegian TV, NRK, had to censor our old logo on a live-stream music contest. Other than that, it’s being a part of the Slottsfjellfestivalens stands for 2 years.

Photo by: Fabian Framdal Fjeldvik

So, what’s next for the brand? Do you have some ideas already for the next collection or design? When will it be out? Or is there anything else that we should be on the lookout for? Something that might surprise us?

We have worked hard and spent many hours to get our 5 year collection done. The next collection is a collaboration with some of Norway’s best tattoo artist.. don’t miss it!

Did you have any advice or tips for aspiring brand owners? Do you have anything to say that could help them whenever they’re about to get to the point of giving up?

The only reason you would feel like giving up is when you feel that the hill is too hard to climb, but you will never get to the top if you let go. Cling on to what you got, be proud of what you have made, and keep fighting. The people who have made a brand great did not start out at the top. They climbed over the same hill just like you!

Finally, do you have one motivational quote that you always remember and say to yourself whenever you’re not feeling 100%? What would that be?

Oh, that’s a hard one.. but I always think of the quote by Johnny Cupcakes: “Do more of what makes you happy.”

Photo by: Fabian Framdal Fjeldvik

Bonus question:

How much (or an estimation) was the investment in the beginning to start your brand?

We started out at the bottom. What we did was we figured out how much money we could lose on a night out of town, without going bankrupt for the rest of the month. We found out that 1000nok (about 120$) split in 2, was the best start. That got us the first shirts we needed to start printing. We also got lucky because we found a space to print for free, which made it much easier than if we were to go to a print shop.

The brand have evolved from the 1000nok we started out with. A hard start makes it easier to not let go, especially when things get hard along the way. If we ever fail, we can look back, and see that we didn’t lose our savings. We also learned a ton of new things while having fun. You do not need a million to start, you just need to work hard and find ways to get the most out of your money!